Valentine's Day Prgm -- "Wouldn't It Be Something"
Posted by Bob Paddock
on Feb 13, 2015
Who are those two photogenic folks in the pictures? A younger version of our speaker, Dennis Depcik, and his wife of forty-one years, Maggie…she, though now deceased, was the inspiration of a book about the couple’s enduring love…and a surviving partner’s efforts to reconcile to loss. The presentation was a fitting Valentine’s Day celebration with our special guests and significant others – meaningful and well-delivered with gentle humor.
Dennis, a Buffalo Grove Rotarian, told of his path through grief, lighted by writing in various forms, including his book, “Wouldn’t It Be Something”. Noting that individuals deal with grief in different ways, he took us through some he had experienced.
To see more of his presentation, click on "More"...
Dennis continued, noting that some people take down photos and memories, trying to move on…only to be revisited with poignant sadness in the coming months and days. There are some who wallow in loss. For Dennis, by writing a poem and recounting memories, he worked through conflicting thoughts of fond memories, anger at being left behind, and tender moments. The process brought him to remembering while at the same time to accepting the loss and a different life...with the feeling that he "will get through it."
Dennis and Maggie's story started at their chance meeting once when she was 13 and he was 20…and then to his surprise when she wrote him four years later while he was in the service. What followed were three years of letters and shared feelings. It was letters found on her closet shelf after her death that were both difficult to deal with and yet prompted his review of their life together.
In some discussion later, Dennis was asked to reflect on marriage today verses theirs of 40 years. He said key was their shared interests and values (though not agreeing on everything, and their mutual love and respect for one another. After the presentation, a long-married Rotary spouse added, "We're all different and have our own interests and personalities too. So it also takes simply being willing to 'shut up' and listen to your partner so he or she can be heard."
You can read more about Dennis, his book, and even order it at http://www.dennisfdepcik.com/